An unfolding legal case in Greensboro highlights an issue in juvenile courts statewide: Should kids on trial remain fully restrained while in court?

The practice varies from district to district and from county to county, lawyers say.

Some districts routinely leave juvenile defendants handcuffed and shackled in court. Others release all but leg shackles once the kids get to the courtroom.

In the pretrial larceny proceedings of a mentally ill 14-year-old girl named Rebecca, Guilford County judges have left her in handcuffs and shackles four times, her lawyers say.

Several years ago, Rebecca was repeatedly sexually assaulted, sometimes while restrained with handcuffs, her lawyers say. So restraining her like that in court retraumatizes her each time and once caused flashbacks, they say.

"You can imagine how terrifying that would be," said one of the girl's lawyers, Bennett Hollers of Greensboro. "She basically sobs."

Rebecca's lawyers, led by Legal Aid of North Carolina, are asking Guilford's chief district court judge to order that she not be handcuffed or shackled in court.

"It makes children feel like animals," said Legal Aid's Keith Howard. "And they internalize the stigma. It impedes the rehabilitative function of the juvenile-justice system."

Legal Aid is asking for more than a change in Rebecca's case. It's asking the judge to order that no juvenile defendants in Guilford County may be handcuffed or shackled in court unless a judge rules that the child might flee or pose a danger to himself or others.

Juvenile defendants whom a judge determines to be a threat to themselves or to people in the courtroom, or someone who might try to run from court, would remain restrained.

Some watching the case hope it will draw widespread attention -- and lead to a statewide policy.

"It happens everywhere," said Eric Zogry, the state's appointed juvenile defender, based in Durham. "The juvenile justice system is supposed to treat kids as individuals, and provide care and concern. It's a travesty to have every child treated as a danger, when that's not the case."

Changing the practice might require a major shift of court culture, Zogry said.

"It's one of those things you see every day but never think, 'Why is this happening?' "

But state and federal law should be interpreted to relax the restraint standards, some lawyers argue.

Some judges and other lawyers oppose relaxing security.

"It should be up to the judge," said Craig Croom, a Wake County District Court judge. "It's a public-safety issue."

Many juvenile offenders will fight in court if given the chance, Croom said. Others will run.

"We've had cases where we had to chase kids," he said. "I've had two kids in the last year jump out of moving vans.

"They're quick. I'm almost 40. I can't chase them down like I could when I was a deputy sheriff."

Deb Newton, a Wake County criminal defense lawyer who handles juvenile cases, said handcuffs and waist chains usually are overkill in court, but leg shackles often are needed.

Juvenile defendants typically are immature, and some are dangerous, she said.

"Sometimes there is a serious risk of injury or flight," she said. "You never know."

Newton said she has had no trouble persuading judges in juvenile court to release all but the leg shackles of her clients. She said she expects the same practice could work in Guilford and elsewhere across the state.